Jets' Santonio Holmes brushes off questions about his role on offense

Nick Laham/GettySantonio Holmes has just 22 catches through seven games this season.

Santonio Holmes did not say he is unhappy — or, for that matter, happy — with his role in the Jets’ offense. When asked the question today, the Jets receiver instead deferred to the team’s two-game winning streak.

“We’re here winning ball games right now,” Holmes said, followed by a lengthy pause.

Through seven games this season, Holmes’ numbers are not staggering: He has 22 catches for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He has been targeted 41 times, according to NFL statistics, third on the team behind tight end Dustin Keller (46) and fellow receiver Plaxico Burress (45).

The Jets’ coaches say repeatedly their offense does not have a No. 1 receiver but rather features different players each week. Holmes, though, has No. 1 receiver talent and money — he signed a five-year, $50 million contract with the team in free agency — without the targets or catches to match.

“If you ask anybody in this league who the top receivers are, his name will always come up because that’s who he is,” coach Rex Ryan said. “He’s an explosive guy, and I’d love to see him catch a few more balls, there is no doubt.”

Both Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez seemed somewhat amused by the questions about Holmes’ role, because two weeks ago, they had been asked when Burress would become more involved in the offense. Against the San Diego Chargers, the 6-5 red-zone target caught three touchdowns.

But Sanchez and Burress, who had been working together for just weeks, needed time to sync up. Holmes played 11 full regular-season games for the Jets last season — he served a four-game league suspension and sat out most of the meaningless Week 17 matchup against Buffalo — and buoyed the team to victories with late-game catches on several occasions.

Holmes’ 22 catches this year rank 85th in the league, fewer than half of Wes Welker (57), Calvin Johnson (47) and the Carolina Panthers' Steve Smith (46), who rank in the league’s top five. Those three No. 1 receivers have each been targeted between 71 and 80 times this season, according to ProFootballFocus, nearly doubling Holmes’ opportunities.

Holmes was targeted just three times in the Chargers game; his season-low number of targets is two, against the Oakland Raiders. He has not yet had a 100-yard receiving game this season and has broken 50 yards in just three of seven games. (Last season, he was targeted an average of 8.5 times per game, and had at least 50 yards six times.)

A report on ProFootballTalk.com during last week’s bye claimed Holmes was dissatisfied with his role. Holmes quickly brushed off a question about the report without denying it.

“Never heard that one. Next question,” he said. “I haven’t talked to anybody about it, never heard about it.”

Holmes proudly noted his touchdown-to-catch ratio — about one touchdown per every seven catches — which he said “fits well in my book right now.” A fourth touchdown, against San Diego, was called back due to a holding penalty on center Nick Mangold.

The sixth-year receiver did acknowledge he and Burress will “complain” at times about not getting the ball. But Holmes, who earlier this season met with coach Rex Ryan along with right guard Brandon Moore after public comments about teammates’ play, indicated these complaints are simply part of an open dialogue with his quarterback.

“He’s our general, he comes to us, he keeps us under control,” Holmes said. “We have to control him a little bit when he loses his cool, but he’s one of those guys who is always tapping us on the back, ‘I got you next time; I got you this time.’ ... We’ll complain a little bit about the ball, but as far as the things that he has to control right now, he has a lot on his plate and he is doing a real good job controlling that.”

Sanchez said he did not think “there’s anything to worry about” per Holmes’ role in the offense. He said opponents have made it tough on some occasions to get the ball to Holmes.

“They know No. 10 is the baller,” Sanchez said. “They want to keep him from getting the ball, they do their best to do that, and we do our best to get him the ball. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. When it does, great, we probably win, and when it doesn’t, hopefully we’re still winning.”